Announcements
Attention for Customers without Multi-Factor Authentication or Single Sign-On - OTP Verification rolls out April 2025. Read all about it here.

Fusion thinks I have a 5th axis. Trying to use 4th axis.

kjav
Enthusiast

Fusion thinks I have a 5th axis. Trying to use 4th axis.

kjav
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

I'm trying to get a 4th axis up and running and the Fusion post processor isn't happy.

I have a CNC Router Parts Pro machine. I have been using the supplied CNCRP config to do 3 axis work up to this point. It throws the following error when trying to use the 4th axis with a wrapped tool path. I also tried the Artsoft Mach3 config. Both throw a similar error when trying to generate G code:

 

 

###############################################################################
Error: This post configuration has not been customized for 5-axis simultaneous toolpath.
Error at line: 907
Error in operation: '2D Contour2'
Failed while processing onRapid5D() for record 417.
###############################################################################

 

I have attached the file to this message. Just a quick test trying to cut contours into a scrap of paper tube.

 

I wonder if it's trying to rock the tool to exactly follow the contours, since they probably aren't exactly perpendicular to the centerline. If so is there a way to tell it to ignore this? Close enough is close enough in this case. :slightly_smiling_face:

 

Thanks!

0 Likes
Reply
Accepted solutions (1)
805 Views
2 Replies
Replies (2)

LibertyMachine
Mentor
Mentor
Accepted solution

Couple of things:

1) You want to place the WCS at center of rotation, which would be the center of the part axis (either edge doesn't matter)

2) The Mach3 post will work just fine if you enable the 4th axis:

2018-11-14_07h13_06.png


Seth Madore
Owner, Liberty Machine, Inc.
Good. Fast. Cheap. Pick two.
0 Likes

kjav
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Outstanding. I missed that option. It works.

 

One comment though - I did crash my machine. By default that processor uses G28 at the top. The option indicates something about 'safe retracts', but G28, as far as I can tell in Mach3, drives the machine to home and I think it uses machine coordinates. When I tried to start the program on the machine, even before the tool started to spin, it drove z straight down into the table. Lucky I didn't have a  tool inserted but it did munch my air exit tubes flat. Once I disabled this in the pre-processor dialog it no longer inserted the G28 and it worked fine.

 

Regarding the WCS center, that's a good tip. Thank you. Is that just when I create the model, or does it need to be centered in the CAM Stock Setup? I had planned to use the top of my 4th axis drive box as zero when using this setup, but if I need the WCS at center of stock, I'll need to have the centerline of the rotary as the z and the y.

 

Thanks again.

0 Likes